User:FLEM/Notebook

A research log for the non-perfect-no-waste-notebook

.TRASHBOOKSatelier concept

The main concept of TRASHBOOKSatelier was born while I was making a book as a Christmas gift for a friend: it was late and I could not go and buy anything so I used every type of paper I had in the house. Different papers, with different weights, different colours, everything kept inside an Amazon box’s cardboard. I realized how interesting was to create books from waste and finding ways to make it work.

I worked for a while on a series called Sketch(totrash)books, no waste editable sketchbooks, consisting of books made of waste. These sketchbooks are meant for artists to paint on the cover and make every single book unique and personal, helping the planet! At present, many of the sketch(totrash)books are made from waste offered by Boothsprint, a printing house in Penryn, UK. Most of their covers are made with delivery cardboard packages.

for the workshops go to User:FLEM/Analysis of sessions

.research & starting point

during the first semester at xpub I have been using an iperborea notebook, measurements: 10x20 that I find amazing but the fact that it involves cutting paper out, I didn't want to create a new notebook out of that idea without finding a solution that would not waste anything

I thought about folding instead of cutting and I actually came up with a nice solution:

folding both sides

I thought it was nice to add additional notes on the side of the main sheets.

this option later suggested an additional possible feature: folding just on one side to create a bigger paper sheet, by opening it.

the idea is to create a notebook that permits the user to play it around and adapt it to their own needs.

at the moment, the current notebook has already shown a series of pros and cons:

+ it occupies less space but offers bigger pages
+ the additional lateral wings allow modularity: the user can move the wings to connect with multiple pages at the same time 
+ if the user forgets something the wings give more space to write
+ the wings can be used differently by everyone
- the fact that it's folded means it's thicker and it's difficult to write if it's too big
+ by using it horizontally the above problem is resolved
+ can have patterns/contents that move from the wings to different pages throughout the notebook [also at later stages if you are still working on the topic]
+ fold page wing to avoid the page to be moved by the wind (!!!)
+ offer different types of paper to people if they want to draw (or whatever) without ruining the binding and of a nice shape//vertical
- still can't write because it's too big 
- it can get wet --> make it waterproof

(see below for results)

see modularity: "the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use" (urgent publishing book)

idea: triangle book

.materials

a4 multiple types of papers (white, cream, coloured, thicker, thinner etc..)
a4 wrong prints
amazon cardboard

.prototypes' updates and analysis

March 2022

first prototype.. where the idea came from (see "research & starting point" paragraph)

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inside overview
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inside overview
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inside pocket
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opened
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ouside cover
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paper selection
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side view
notebook in the wild

fill in the table (inserted in feb 2023)

my personal notebook process	folded vertical notebook
What is the starting need that brought to the creation and use of it?	this question helps to highlight the starting point and main reason for the creation of a new notebook (or modification applied). it can be described in a few words.
What are the positive sides? Does it work within the starting purpose?	this is to understand if the solutions that have been found and applied to the new notebook are valid and working. this is important mostly not to lose track of the reasons underneath the concept and to evaluate how much the modifications worked.
What are the negative sides? What could be a different approach to solve the issue?	if what has been analysed above did not work, why didn't it work? analysing what worked and what did not help to reason on new ways to solve the issue that was not solved.
To try out:	a space to throw some ideas about practical solutions to apply to a possible new notebook or that can be applied directly to the version that is under monitoring.

20.09.22

I delivered to Supi the first notebook kit: An adjustable and editable notebook with included tape and papers for continuation

The idea is that this type of notebooks allows the user to build it up easily as their needs come over and adjusting and editing while using it and not being forced to stay in a standardised area for standardised notebook users.

21.09.22

Made a prototype for chae (a multicolumned notebook: could we fold it more?)

Officially opened the notebooks (temporary) archive

30.09.22

some new ideas on how to play with the structure of the notebook..

[left page] Thought about the fact that the limit of binding is that there's no space for easy customisation or add-ons after it's closed at the beginning. so instead of the prototype of the [notebook kit: An adjustable and editable notebook with included tape and papers for continuation], where i felt there was too little rigid structure and the user could feel too lost, i imagined to use the same technique starting from a bound one [name: the infinite notebook]. At the same time, this opens an option for loose sheets that through the use of glued tape can be attached as plain paper to the loose ones. It is bound, but free to move: the user is also able to cut out pages, re-position but also keep some they care about.

[bottom right page] the second idea instead works more on the concept of modularity: reconnect content between the three sections, making possible to have an overview of content even when the space on the column is finished. By choosing a specific method (that could be colours, page number, or even a personal one created on the go) it should become intuitive to move in the space of the triad notebook. The notebook could also be shared for multiple uses, maybe using every row differently. The question is if i am obliged to use a spiral ring or a copta could also work? need to try out

! Recycle notebooks paper to create new notebooks: check paper making--> if i destroy the paper sheets of a notebook in water, then i make a new notebook out of it, then i melt it again, and again, it should become smaller and smaller? DOCUMENT

09.11.22

I tried the concept I had for the notebook kit I made for supi on myself.

It has been helpful to reorganise thoughts in very small sheets of paper. This obliged me to describe a concept in a little amount of words.

The second characteristic is that it allows me to move around the sheets and then attach them together when I finalised decisions.

It was helpful for this specific purpose, but the overall idea I have about this prototype is that it's very fragile and not very usable if not sitting at a desk. It can help to explain concepts and ideas, through the unfolding and opening mechanism, but it is of any use as a portable notebook.

What is the starting need that brought to the creation and use of it?

Fragmenting ideas and sum up concepts in little amounts of words as I tend to occupy a lot of space in the page if the sheet is too big

What are the positive sides? Does it work within the starting purpose?

It works for the purpose but in the moment it becomes more and more filled with content then it starts to get messy again

It allows the movement of concepts so that I can reposition them to understand where I want them to fit

What another version of this need should be like to satisfy it?

Splitting up concepts even more,

It's important to use the notebook as the starting idea was about: opening sections one at the time not to get confused with all the rest of the content

To try out:

[ ] reposition, delete and merge content to reduce the amount of repetition or wrong positioning that happens after the taping happened

How does the content of the notebook is received while reading again? Is it helping me to visualise?

---> it was useful to organise my thoughts and put them in order but not so much to go through it again

fill in the table (inserted in feb 2023)

my personal notebook process	notebook kit: An adjustable and editable notebook with included tape and papers for continuation
What is the starting need that brought to the creation and use of it?	Fragmenting ideas and sum up concepts in little amounts of words as I tend to occupy a lot of space in the page if the sheet is too big.
What are the positive sides? Does it work within the starting purpose?	It works for the purpose but when it becomes more and more filled with content, then it starts to get messy again. It allows the movement of concepts so that I can reposition them to understand where I want them to fit.
What are the negative sides? What could be a different approach to solve the issue?	Splitting up concepts even more. It's essential to use the notebook as the starting idea was about: opening sections one at a time not to get confused with all the rest of the content. it was helpful to organise my thoughts and put them in order but not so much to go through them again after I finished creating it.
To try out:	[ ] reposition, delete and merge content to reduce the amount of repetition or wrong positioning that happens after the taping happened

12.11.22

New idea for books' annotations

Concept:

write on separate sheets and then put them together with strings or rings.

Pros:

Different paper sheets so I can write separately and then decide how to organise the notes

Cons:

I am annoyed that I cannot add things to the text if the space is finished

New:

I need a notebook for ideas sketching and development = where to write down a sudden idea fast and easy and then have the space to develop it in the future = organised but free space to express maybe with sum-up window/space

I always feel like when I write on my paper notebooks is never definitive, i feel it like a work in progress that then is completed when I move the notes on my laptop. If I move them on my laptop not organised I feel stressed because it doesn't allow me to think/reason/process but it doesn't even allow my brain to relax because things are in order.

fill in the table (inserted in feb 2023)


new ideas for notebooks
Need	being able to move the pages so that every space is a free space
Concept	write on separate sheets and then put them together with strings or rings
Pros	Different paper sheets so I can write separately and then decide how to organise the notes
Cons	It is annoying that I cannot add things to the text if the space is finished (absence of folded columns)

December 2022

I made a new version of the notebook I had till the beginning of this semester. I found some problems in this new version I made.

it's very inflexible. I cannot turn it around, I cannot open the pages completely and I cannot use the two pages as a whole because the curve is too big.

it's too thick and bulky. I cannot transport it easily, there are too many pages to start from.

I tried this time to have different sections, to see if it was possible to have the content that touches specific topics in the same area. The problem is I am not able, every time I take notes, to visualise in which area the content I want to write should go into, so then it ends up that I don't use it because I do not know where to start --> GENERAL RULE: it is important to have entry points to access the notebook. This means having a structure that does not slow you down or interrupt the moment in which you want to write something down.

For me this interruption is that I do not know where to position the sudden ideas or thoughts I have. From this statement, I understand that what I need from the next notebook is to have the possibility to immediately write down what I have in mind, wherever I position it, without feeling any guilt regarding the appearance of the pages of my notebook. It is also important that it does not look too perfect, so that I feel okay in using what I have however I want.

if it happens, most of the time the risk is that the person with the idea in mind does not want to write it down anymore, or easily runs towards a simpler and more accessible sheet of paper, that in most cases is a flat industrial notebook.

My answer to this, after writing on that notebook around 4-5 pages, has been a totally different approach than the first one: I do not use it anymore. The easiest solution is to cut it in half.

(follows in march 2023)

does not open well
hard back cover :(

18.01.2023

I made the new notebook with metal rings and started to use it.

CONCEPT.

it feels better to have metal rings and the chance to position every sheet where I want and this is an addition that really helps me.

CONS.

I am very unorganised. At the moment I am always writing everything that comes very fast, in whatever position in the page. This leads to a big amount of content without a structure/any entry point. It is not accessible after some time I wrote things down.

I feel restricted in the moment I have to write on a flat a5 page. I feel like the content is never organised because I can write in every direction and most of the time I use visual note-taking, or note-making, especially the circular method (have starting points in the middle and then move around it), i get lost in the space because I have space with no interruptions or limitations.

i always forget to write dates because it feels very temporary.

i hate how the pages turn around the rings because there is not the right amount of pages to turn it properly.

i do not like the paper I am using right now because it is not flexible or foldable in any way. FOLDABILITY HELPS ME.

PROS.

my thoughts are never interrupted because it is a very accessible notebook. I do not feel bad in start writing wherever I find it fitting.

I can position every sheet where I want, moving them around after use.

FUTURE. I would like to edit the one I am already using to fix the problems I am having at the moment.

change paper

add more paper

fold paper

pay more attention when i re-organise materials

GALLERY

09.02.23

I made some modifications to the metal ring notebook:

added color separation for sections equipped with a small pocket; is it going to work?

the sections are: notes on texts, thesis to do lists, project brainstorming, archipelago, personal stuff.

a pen holder

a4 sheets folded in half that allow a more structured note-taking; they are thinner than the old ones

10.02.23

I worked on all the necessary updates.. trying it out

pen holder & coloured cardboard separation
folded sheets

14.02.23

I noticed how much i work with numbered lists when i have a flat sheet of paper. I think it's pretty evident, looking at my old notebook and this new flat one, how much the shape changed the content. It is very hard right now to use this laptop for brainstorming. I am only writing lines of text and cannot connect with others at all.

vertical lists
circular note-taking
note-making

I generally also work a lot with arrows but i have not found a way to help this side of my note-taking practice yet. I feel maybe columns can help but i still need to try.

I also love the new additions i made a few days ago, especially the folded sheets as i can finally reconnect contents between different parts of the notebook.

15.03.23

Yesterday I discovered I hate writing on vertical large notebooks. I always start making lists (see above) and it's never visual and I hate it because I get super lost and also in conversation/brainstorming notes there is no structure at all and I feel uncomfortable because I am not sure I can trust my own notes. In addition, metal rings don't work for me. I am too messy, I have texts everywhere, I cannot track the last thing I wrote, I need to go in order. That said, I will take the last vertical notebook I made december and rip it apart and 1) change the cover, it was too hard and felt very difficult to open and use. 2) still add the pockets because I am using them in the metal ring one and they are very useful. This also allows me to have flaps on the cover that are also useful to easily find where is the last writing 3) I got rid of one of the signatures I had to make it a bit smaller. 4) I also noticed that I made some of the folded sheets a bit wider than the 20x30 that I used before and some less and I want to see if that cm more I have will influence how I feel. As with the wide sheets I am having problems, how much do I have to reduce it to make it the perfect width? I will keep you updated.

CRAZY: reconnect to last chapter on paper and clues of paper and if the text is not organised in a visual way on the paper but scattered around I forget where specific things I wrote are positioned and it is much harder to track back. I cannot find anything anymore.

+ I also do not like too thin paper but not too thick. It needs to fold a bit but it cannot be something like copy or office paper so between 120gsm and 200gsm. I am not also a giant fan of coloured paper to write on but I love colors so I don't really know how to solve it. I made the cover super yellow though, so maybe that calm myself down!

What I want to say it is not necessarily that this process will make your way of writing on paper better or different, but just that it will make the person feeling more comfortable with the object, use it more, make more useful notes that can be reread and used. (unfinished thought) !!!! do you think there is something you could change that will make you use the notebook more and that help you more during the work project process of creation?

20.03.23

I produced a special notebook to deliver a starter for a conversation around our projects to Kim and Chae (XPUB classmates).

The gift was requested by the midwives, our tutor for the collective publication and graduation show. The concept was to give each other something in form of a letter or gift, or anything we could think of, and deliver it to the others in our group. After delivering, we were supposed to meet and chat about our impressions and questions.

I made this little notebook, one for each of them. From the first CES, I had this recurrent idea in my head: one of the participants made this very very long strip-notebook, underlining how much the narrowness of the paper would help them to free their mind and free write. Therefore, I bound the notebook, with a little string to close them so that they would resemble a gift and folded, so that the length would be discovered just after opening.

I free wrote both letters: they came out quite different from each other.

Comments from receivers: discussion on how the container/shape of the gift gave some idea on how to use it, it is playful as it's long. Focus on the content, automatic (free) writing, thinking in written form, a notebook is not something you share because it is difficult to understand for others as it's not finalised content. The shape set the vibe for the rest of the pages, inviting the receiver to answer to the questions in the same way, just underneath. Nice format to write a letter.

kim: “I was pleased to find your gift which was at once a letter, an envelope and a notebook inviting me to answer back. Tied with a bow and sewn with care, the compact square of thick paper unfolded to an arm’s length notebook. The few first pages were covered with your hasty handwriting from which I could perceive the physical effort that demanded this free-writing exercise. Before I computed that this (of course!) made sense with what I know of your project, I was seeing myself annotating your letter and answering it already in the form of unfinished thoughts. Having this conversation on the surface of your notebook disinhibited the formulation of my thoughts, thank you for that.”

28.03.23

the last notebook I made for myself and the thoughts I had on it. I hope it will follow me until graduation, as an answer to my thoughts on the 15.03.23.

See my opinion on this notebook on the bottom picture.

Overall, I am super happy with it. The fact that it fits in the inside pocket of my jacket is just one of the amazing features this notebook is offering. I am already noticing, as mentioned earlier in the diary, that the different width of the pages is making a difference. I need a bit more time to understand what is it exactly.